ACA Success Stories Social Media Campaign: Marketing Hit or Miss?

First published on MedCityNews.com. Remember Chad Henderson – the hero for journalists who were hungry for health insurance exchange success stories when the site first launched in October?

First published on MedCityNews.com. Remember Chad Henderson – the hero for journalists who were hungry for health insurance exchange success stories when the site first launched in October?

Now that many of the kinks have been worked out with the site, success stories – and horror stories – are much easier to come by. One social media campaign, ACA Signup Succes Stories, is surfacing as many of Obamacare’s satisfied customers as possible.

Its website defines the campaign as a “non-partisan volunteer organization,” but it publishes only news and success stories that convey approval of the Affordable Care Act. One volunteer told me she and the campaign’s other volunteers collect stories via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and its website.

#Oregon: “So I got the bill for my medical procedures. My total cost? Zero. Thank you, .@BarackObama” #ACA #GetCo… pic.twitter.com/uHiZNbi8Ia

— ACA Success Stories (@ACASuccessStory) January 28, 2014

The Obama administration is lagging behind projected enrollment numbers and made a big PR push late last year in an effort to boost signups. The question is, could an independent, grassroots social media campaign help the cause?

Pros:

Since October, ACA Success Stories has accrued 9,400 Facebook followers and 3,400 Twitter followers. Not too shabby.

It’s inviting discussion – albeit one-sided.

Search potential. It’s website, Twitter and Facebook pages give people searching for “ACA success stories” exactly what they’re looking for.

Cons:

There’s no real call to action besides signing up, which most people who follow the campaign probably already have(if they can).

Most of the stories are bite-sized and incomplete. Yes, people are saving money on their hospital bills, but how much are their insurance premiums? Does their plan cover other services they need?

It’s not very visual, especially compared to anti-Obamacare campaigns like MyCancellation.com, which collects letters of people who have had their health insurance policies canceled, and the meme-loving #FullRepeal campaign.

The bottom line: I’ll take this any day over other lousy attempts by groups to win over young people with celebrities, beer and rap songs. And it’s a huge improvement over the #WhatObamacareMeansToMe hashtag-gone-bad earlier in the fall.

[Image credit: Flickr]